Motorcycle/passenger car collision sends two to hospital

Two motorists were hospitalized Friday, April 19 about 10 a.m. after a motorcycle/passenger vehicle collision at the intersection of Liberty and MLK Parkway in Beaumont.

Police say two motorcycles were involved in the collision when a 32-year-old Beaumont woman in a white SUV pulled in front of the motorcycles as they crossed the intersection.

Larry Prejeas was one of the men driving southbound on MLK.

“She turned in front of us,” he said moments after the collision. “Yeah, we had a green light.”

Prejeas said he was on his way to pay his phone bill and did not know the other motorcyclist, who was rushed to the St. Elizabeth ER.

The unidentified man, a 44-year-old from Vidor, was not wearing a helmet when he hit the woman in an SUV.

“He just had a bandana around his head,” Prejeas said. “He had his colors on too. He was a member of the Bandidos.”

Witnesses on the scene said the hospitalized rider’s nickname was “Slowpoke.” Emergency room staff said he suffered multiple internal injuries

Prejeas said the woman turned in front of the two riders a few feet before they crossed the intersection.

“He didn’t even get a chance to brake,” Prejeas said of the hospitalized rider.

Sporting a scarred and scratched helmet and leather jacket, Prejeas said he knew there was no time to stop and simply laid his bike down on the hard pavement to avoid the collision.

“When they turn in front of me like that, I know that bike ain’t gonna stop in time, so I lay it down to keep from tearing me up,” he said. “You know, I can get another bike, but I can’t get another me.”

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